Shore Excursions for Wine Enthusiasts

The world has so many wonderful winemaking regions – will you ever manage to visit them all? If you’re a cruise enthusiast, perhaps you will. Cruise ships call on a number of ports in or near some of the world’s best-known and emerging wine regions. Additionally, many cruise lines offer shore excursions specifically designed for the appreciation and tasting of local wines.

Princess Cruises’ ships that call on Le Verdon, France, are just a 90-minute scenic drive from the Bordeaux region, where fine red wines have been produced for hundreds of years. The Wine Country Experience shore excursion includes tours of two chateaux, the Chateau Maucaillou and the Medoc Chateau. Chateau Maucaillou houses the Museum of Wine Arts & Techniques, dedicated to the art of winemaking. At Medoc Chateau, the maitre de chai (master of the cellar) leads a guided tour of the estate’s wine cellars. At both chateaux, you’ll sample recent vintages.

Many wine enthusiasts have discovered the vintages of Australia in recent years. Holland America ships that call on Canberra offer an excursion to Tilba, a restored village protected by National Heritage status. If you love the taste of cheese as well as wine, this is the perfect excursion for you: your first stop will be the ABC Cheese Factory in the village, the home of Tilba Club Cheese. After a look at the lovely Foxglove Spires garden, you’ll visit the Tilba Valley Winery, the first to be established on Australia’s far south coast. There, you’ll enjoy a tour, wine tasting and lunch.

If you’d like to learn more about South American wines, Oceania Cruises can help. Oceania ships that call on Coquimbo, Chile, offer a shore excursion to the Tabali Winery. The trip begins with a beautiful drive along the coast and the "Road of Grapes and Vineyards” to the winery. You’ll learn about the varieties of grapes that grow there and the process of making Chilean wine. Finally, you’ll see the cellars and enjoy a special wine tasting.

If you would like nothing more than to indulge all of your senses in wine appreciation for the duration of a cruise, your personal cruise expert can arrange that, too. Celebrity Cruises offers wine cruises along the West Coast of North America, including winemaker dinners, wine-centric shore excursions, wine enrichment seminars with noted guest speakers, themed wine events and more.

To learn more ways to make wine an integral part of your next cruise, talk with your Cruise Holidays personal cruise expert.